


To Those That Wait

by Viridian5



Category: 12 Monkeys (TV)
Genre: C'mon canon ties him up all the time, Cole disapproves, Gen, Humor, Non-Sexual Bondage, Slice of Life, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 13:45:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7224787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viridian5/pseuds/Viridian5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What’s a little bondage between friends, right, Cole?</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Those That Wait

**Author's Note:**

> General spoilers through season two. 
> 
> Garbage’s _Strange Little Birds_ album helped provide some mood for this, though the fic is somewhat more madcap than that music. Thanks to Rosaleendhu for the read-through.

As soon as Cole woke up, he realized he was tied down. A bit of struggling let him know that he’d been bound by his wrists and ankles in improvised but strong and anchored four-point restraints. 

“No, it’s okay! Calm down!” Jennifer shouted, as she rushed over to sit near him. “You’re among friends! Well, friend. It’s all good!”

“Why am I tied up? Did _you_ tie me up?” How did he sleep through that? The arranging, the tying.... He didn’t usually sleep that deeply... or wake up so refreshed, aside from the bondage. Wait, he didn’t want to know. 

A look around told him that he’d been tied down onto the bed in his hotel room, 607 at the Emerson Hotel. He’d started to feel somewhat safe here, and maybe that had been a huge mistake. 

Then again, trusting Jennifer could sometimes be a huge mistake. She wouldn’t betray him on the large things, not if he got a chance to talk to her, but her unpredictability and occasional volatility could be problems on the smaller ones. 

“There’s something really tie-up-able about you. Have you ever noticed that?” 

“ _Yes_.” And people needed to stop. 

“You’re just too cute, that’s all.” She smiled, looking so _happy_. “This reminds me of how we first met.”

Both of them imprisoned in the asylum, with himself tied to a bed in four-point restraints. He hoped she wouldn’t climb on top of him and threaten him to further reenact the moment. “I wouldn’t think that’d be a positive memory for you.”

“A lot of good came out of it! Life is much more interesting, fun, and coherent now, and I’m free! I know what I am now: Primary! Girl, you know it’s true.” 

“I’ll splinter out of this.” Eventually. Right now would be a good time. No? No.

“That’s kind of the point, cowboy. You pop in and out of my life at what seems like random to me, I never know which version of you I’ll get and what you’ll remember, but now you’re right here in one place going nowhere for a while and I can keep my eyes on you.” Jennifer pointed to her eyes and then directly at him to make sure he got the point. With her sitting on the bed against his hip, her fingers came a little too close to _his_ eyes. “Though for all I knew they could splinter you out of here in your sleep at any time, so even this wasn’t foolproof. So think about it. A normal person would’ve gone crazy dealing with you.”

Cassie had dealt fairly well-- but, wait, Cassie lived the same life he did now and had gone from someone certain of the value of every life, a healer, to a bitter, angry, violent person who spent a lot of time obstinately trying to kill the wrong people at the wrong time for the wrong reasons, worse than he’d ever been. He could blame Deacon for a lot of that but also blamed himself, no matter what Cassie had to say about it. He’d brought her into this. 

So he could sympathize a bit, and he’d worked with Jennifer at various points in her life, even died with her several times, and known Jennifer liked him. “Okay, I get it.” Figuring out how much Jennifer knew and what had happened to her in between times when he met her in different years, backward and forward, could be confusing and worrying too. “I can stay here until they splinter me out without you needing the ropes.” Squirming didn’t loosen anything at all. 

“Nope! Good try!”

“Can you loosen them a bit at least?”

“Ha! I _know_ you.”

He sighed. “I’m hungry.”

He did _not_ like the look on her face as she said a little too eagerly, “I can feed you.”

“No! Not that hungry!” He could definitely wait. 

But she seemed more amused than offended by his response, chuckling. Then she patted his head. 

This was his life these days.

Then again, he never thought he’d live this long. He wasn’t starving, freezing, all that uncomfortable, wounded, or dying. Nobody was actively threatening him or giving him electroshock this time. These ropes felt fairly smooth against his skin, without any rough or sharp or scratchy pieces poking into or raking him. Though they would leave some marks, he healed quickly these days and could keep Cassie and Ramse from seeing anything. He could be patient and figure out what he could say to Jennifer at this point in her life that might get her to untie him. If that didn’t work, eventually he’d splinter back to his own time. 

“Now you’re getting into the spirit!” 

Then again, urgh. 

She petted his hair a little, something else too many people did, especially when they had him tied up. “Everything will work out all right. Eventually. Probably.”

 

### End


End file.
